Rob did a post today that speculated on what Seattle's draft might actually look like in rounds 2-7. I thought several of his picks were right on the money (in terms of being realistic), but one new name really stood out to me: Luke Marquardt in the 5th round.

I had never heard of Marquardt until today. I watched the video Rob linked, and to say the least, I was very impressed:

Yes, this is a highlight video, and it's a highlight video of him playing against scrubs. But at (allegedly) 6'9" and 317 pounds, you can see him utterly dominate the competition in the run game in a way I haven't seen since Nate Solder, who was also around the same height and size. Given how much he outclasses his competition in terms of physical gifts, you'd be understanding if he coasted by. Instead, he plays with a nasty streak you don't usually see from lineman so large.

Had I not been having terrible internet problems recently, I probably would have heard of Marquardt a few days ago when Tony Pauline mentioned Marquardt in his week of April 8th draft update. It appears I'm not the first person to see Nate Solder in Marquardt's game:

But out west I am told almost 20 teams/position coaches will attend the workout of Azusa Pacific offensive tackle Luke Marquardt. There’s a lot to be learned as Marquadt missed all of last season with a foot injury and did not workout at the combine. He’s being compared to both Sebastian Vollmer and Nate Solder.

I was told coaches on hand drooled over the display of size, athleticism and the way Marquardt effortlessly moved his 317-pound frame around the field...

...Where will Marquardt be selected in the draft? Its not out of the question that a team with double digit picks rolls the dice in round three hoping to hit on Marquardt’s awesome potential.

Anyway, he's fits both Seattle and Cables criteria perfectly, he should be available in the rounds 3-5 range, and he's drawing comparisons to Nate Solder, who Seattle rated extremely high before the 2011 draft. Definitely a player to keep an eye on.

I just watched his senior bowl video. He reminds me a little of John Moffitt. He gets very little push in the run game but has good technique and usually sticks well on his blocks. In pass pro he looked somewhat below average. He can get bull rushed and doesn't play with great balance in pass protection. I think he'll be a guard in the NFL, and I think he'll be half a notch below John Moffitt (I think Moffitt is slightly underrated by most). I could see Seattle drafting him because of his "ability" to play tackle, I just don't think he'd be good enough to unseat Giacomini at that position.

So, I'd probably give him a 4th round grade, but I wouldn't want Seattle to draft him in any round because I don't think he fits what we need.

Yeah, Emory had him to us in his end of March mock draft. I had us taking him in the 7th in a hawks mock around that time.

He's been generating momentum of late. I may have mentioned him on SDB around that time too. Intriguing guy. May have enough juice to push him into mid day 3. Although I suspect that teams are going to be loaded up on OT prospects from the earlier rounds this year.